There have been a number of solutions proposed for providing image content from wearable devices. Various types of goggles, glasses, and other apparatus have been described for displaying image content to a viewer who is wearing the apparatus. These devices may be completely immersive, so that the viewer sees only images generated by the apparatus and has no ability to see the outside world when wearing the device. Alternately, varying degrees of visibility of the real world are provided with other designs, so that the generated images are superimposed on the real-world image as an augmented display or, in some way, used to complement the real-world visual content that lies in the viewer's field of view.
Wearable display devices offer considerable promise for providing information and displaying complementary imagery that can improve performance and efficiency in a number of fields. In medicine and dentistry, for example, the capability to view image content that had been previously stored and, optionally, post processed, or is currently being acquired from another vantage point can help the practitioner to more accurately obtain detailed data that would aid diagnosis and treatment. Imaging data that is currently available only from high-cost 3-D imaging systems can be provided in a useable format for viewing on less expensive wearable imaging equipment that allows the practitioner to have this information in an active clinical setting. Stereoscopic imaging, with its enhanced spatial understanding and improved presentation of relevant detail, can be particularly useful for those treating patients using medical imaging guidance or medical data, as well as for those skilled in other fields.
With many of the apparatus that have been proposed for wearable displays, the viewer is encumbered by the device in some way, due to device size, bulkiness and discomfort, component and image positioning, poor image quality, eye fatigue, and other difficulties. Although many clever solutions for providing a more natural viewing experience have been outlined, and a number of advances toward improved image quality have been introduced, the form factors for many of these solutions still make it difficult to win broad-based acceptance for these devices, particularly for long-term use. Their bulky size and appearance are still considered to be significant factors in limiting the appeal of wearable imaging devices for many people.
Despite years of design effort and optimization, including integration of miniaturization and improved imaging technologies, designing wearable display apparatus with acceptable ergonomics and high image quality has proved to be a continuing challenge. Workable solutions for wearable display devices that have a natural “feel” and that can be easily worn and used remain elusive. Thus, it can be appreciated that there is a need for a wearable device for stereoscopic display that provides high image quality and is lightweight, inexpensive, easy to use, and ergonomically less invasive and cumbersome than conventional designs.